Firearm



oFFic.

JOHN R. FORDYCE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HAIJF T EMIL P. PIERSON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

FIREARM.

1,386247 Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug, 2, 1921 Application led January 22, 1918. Serial No. 213,141.

To @Il whom t may concern.' gun and its load of ammunition from the h Be it kno-wn that I, J o HN R. FoRDYoE, a shoulder of the user when the gun is not in citizen of the United States, residing at St. use, thus leaving both hands of the user free Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new at such times. and useful Improvement in Firearms, of And'still another object is tofprovide a 60 which the following is a full, clear, and exmagazine gun that is adapted to bev supact description, such as will enable others, ported on or from the shoulder of the user skilled in the art to which it appertains to with the barrel of the gun pointed formake and use the same.' wardly whenthe gun is in use and which is This invention relates to automatic rifles, equipped with means arranged in proximity 65 machine guns and other easily portable fire to the fro-nt end of the barrel of the gun for arms. firing the gun and also for operating the The automatic rifles and certain types of device that is used in magazine guns fon machine guns that are now in general use causing the first cartridge to be fed from are sufficiently light in weight to permit the ma azine into the firing chamber of the 70. them to be transported easily from place to gun. 'ther objects and desirable features place, but such guns, when loaded with amof my invention will be hereinafter pointed munition, are too heavy to enable them to out. be supported by the arms of the user in the My invention is applicable to any kind of i same manner that an o-rdinary rifle or small gun or fire arm which, when loaded with aml 75 caliber gun is supported during the operamunition, is too heavy to enable the gun to tion of aiming and firing the same. In fact, be supported by the arms of the user durguns of the kind referred to are equipped ing the operation of firing the gun, but with a bipod, standard or other device that which is sufficiently light in weight to enis adapted to be rested on the ground so as able the user to carry the gun from place 80 to support the gun while it is being aimed to place. It is particularly applicable, howand fired, and while such guns are someever, to automatic ries, machineguns and times used in making a charge on the enemy,l other lire arms which are designed to ire they cannot be aimed and ired accurately a relatively large number of shots in rapid at such times, due to the fact that they are succession. My invention can be applied 8 5 so heavy that they have to be supported on easily to automatic rifles and other types of the hip of the user, in which position it is rapid fire guns no-w in General use by means practically impossible to aim and fire the of a few simple attachments or additions n with any degree of accuracy. to such guns. Hence, it is of the utmost The main object of my invention is to importance at this time, as it makes it pos- 90 provide an automatic rifle, machine gun or sible to convert an ordinary automatic rifle other type of rapid fire gun which is so conor light-weight machine gun into a lire arm structed that it can be aimed and fired .acthat canbe used eectively in making a curately while the user is running, wallmng charge, due to the fact that the user can ac e0 or in such a position that it is not possible curately aim and fire the gun while he is l95 or practicable to support the gun by resting running. The invention can also be emsome portion of same on the ground or on bodied in a gun designed to be supporte a supporting structure. To this end I have or suspended from the shoulder of the user devised a gun which is so constructed that and supplied with. ammunition; automatithe weight of the gun and the supply of amcally from a magazine formed integral with 100 munition for the gun are borne by the shoulthe gun or carried on the body of the user. der of the user when the gun is being aimed I have herein illustrated my invention apand fired, the gun being. provided with plied to a rapid fire gun of a type now 1n means arranged in proximity to the front eneral use and also embodied in a gun that end of the barrel of the gun for actuating is adapted to be suspended from the shoul- 105 the mechanism that operates the gun or der o-f the user, but I wish it to be undertion is not limited to et'ects the explosion of the ammunition. stood that the inven Another object is to provide an automatic any particular type of rapid fire gun, autorifle or other type o-f rapid lire gun that is matic rifle or machine gun, but, on the con- 55 equipped with means for suspending the trary, is applicable to any kind of re arm of suiiiciently light weight to enable the gun `and its supply of ammunition to be carried through the barrel and the radiator o-f the gun, taken on approximately the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view, illustrating a gun of the type shown in Fig. 1 provided with means for enabling the n to be suspended from the shoulder of the user when the nis not in use. f

Fig. 4 1s a side elevational view, illustrating another form of my invention.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal horizontal sectional view, taken through the ammunition magazine of the gun shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the shell feeding mechanism of the gun illustrated in Fig. 4, showing how the cartridges or shells swing into a horizontal position as they approach the firing chamber of the gun. l

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, which illustrates my invention applied to a ma? chine gun of a type that is now in general use, A designates the stock .of the gun, B designates the barrel, C designatesv the'usual hand grip that is arranged on the underside of the part of the gun that carries the ammunition magazine ger that is adapted to be actuated by a finger of the users hand so as to effect the explosion of the ammunition, and E. designates a bipod or standard that is adaptedto be placed on the ground so as to support the weight of the gun whilejit is being aimed and fired under ordinary conditions. In order that the gun may be aimed accurately and fired when the user is running, walking or in such a position that it is impossible or impracticable to support the gun by means of the bipodv E, I have provided the gun with means whereby the user can vaim and fire the gun when the gun is supported or rested on the shoulder of the user, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. Said means consists of a hand grip F or other -suitable device arranged in proximity to the front end of the barrel of the gun which vthe user can grasp with one hand so as to balance the gun on his shoulder and also move the gun l terallyand tilt it'vertically during the operation of aiming the gun, and a trigger operating mechanism arranged in proximity to said hand grip F, by means vof which the user can actuate the trigger D of the gun that controls the mechanism which ects the explosion of the ferred to can be formed' in wlthout departing from the ammunition. e trigger operating mechanism labove respirit of my shoulder.

D designates the trigvarious ways invention, the mechanism herein shown consisting of a rod G arranged longitudinally of the barrel of the gun and provided at its front end with a depending portion l that coperates with a trigger H arranged in front of the hand grip F, said rod being provided at its rear end with a depending IpDOrtion 2 that cooperates with the trigger of the gun that actuates or governs the operation of the mechanism which effects the explosion of the ammunition. Said trigger actuating mechanism is so designed that when the user presses rearwardly on the auxiliary trigger H, .the rod G will move rearwardly and exert sulcient pressure on the main trigger D of the gun. to lire the gun. The rod G 1s preferably arranged inside of one of the air passageways 3'of the radiator I of the gun, but the particular arrangement and construction of the trigger operating mechanism is immaterial, so far as my invention is concerned, as my b-road idea con- .sists in a gun whose weight is borne by the shoulder of the user when arranged in firing position `and provided with means arranged in proximity Ato the front end of the barrel of the un for aiming and .firing the gun, the gun geing adapted to be supported on, rested on' or suspended from the users In a gun of the particular type herein shown, namely, one that is equipped with a bipod or standard E, the user can grasp the hand grip F with one hand and grasp the bipod E with the other hand during the operation of aiming and firing .the

gun, if the user finds that he cannot control the gun accurately with one hand, but 1n practice I have found that a gun of the construction herein illustrated and weighing in the neighborhood of thirty pounds canbe aimed and fired with one hand with sufficient accuracy to make the gun a very eiicient weapon when the user on whose shoulder the gun is supported is running or walking rapidly. The gun shown in ig. l is provided with the usual means for causing the first shell or cartridge to be introduced into the firing chamber of the gun each time the magazine A is loaded with a fresh supply of ammunition, said means consisting of a device 4 which I have shown diagrammatically as it forms no part of my invention. In order that the device 4 may be operated from the front end of the barrel of the gun and by the same hand that operates the trigger H, I have mounted the hand grip F onthe gun in suc'h a manner that 1t can be moved backwardly and forwardly, as indicated in broken lines in Figzl, so as to 'impart movement to a longitudinallydisposed rod 5 that is adapted to engage and actuate the device 4 which projects laterally' from the' left hand side of the gun, as shown in Fig. 2. Assuming that the magazine A is full, thevuser first moves thev hand grip F former position, 1n which position it remains while the user 1s firlng the remaining shells in the magazine.

A to enable the user If desired, the gun can be provided with a loop J, as shown in Fig. 3, disposed so that the user can slip his arm through same. Said loop J not only tends to hold the gun steady while it is being aimed and red, but it also serves to connect the gun to the body of the user in such a manner that the barrel of the guncan be permitted to swing'downwardly after the firing ceases, thus leaving both hands of the user free.

In'Fig. 4 of the drawings I have' illus` trated still another form of my invention wherein the magazine A2 of the gun is so proportioned and designed that it can be positionedunder the arm of the user.

loop J that projects upwardly from the magazine A2 serves to suspend the gun and its load of ammunition from the shoulder of the-user, and the barrel of the gun is so positioned with relation to the loop J that the barrel.l is enough lower than the users face i to tilt his head slightly, and thus use the sights 6 on the barrel of the gun during the operation of aiming the gun. A hand grip F is arranged in proximity to the front end of the barrel of the gun, and a. trigger H is provided for actuating the mechanism that effects the explosion of the ammunition, the trigger H being provided with a tail piece that coperates with a part G that controls the operation of the firing pin. The gun shown in Fig. 4 is also provided with a part 4a, shown diagrammatically, that is adapted to be actuated so as to cause the irst shell to pass from the ma azine into the firing chamber, and in or er that said part 4*?L may be operated from, the front end of the b`arrel of the gun, I have mounted the hand grip F in such a manner .that it can be pulled ,rearwardly so as to impart movement to an element' 5a that actu-v ates the device 4a. It is immaterial what means is used for feeding the shells from the magazine into the firing chamber, but one means that can be used for this purpose consists of an endless chain carrier 7 for the shells combined with a feeding device 8 that is actuated automatically by the recoil' feed the carrier 7 formechanism, so as to Wardly one step after each shot. The carrier 7 is so constructed that the shells m normally stand in an upright position, as shown in broken lines in Fig. 4 and in full lines in Fig. 6, and means is provided for moving the pivotally mounted shell holders 7 a. on the shell carrier into a horizontal position at a certain point in the path of 4travel of the shell carrier, so that the shells will be posisuitable mechanism tioned properly when they reach the firing chamber of the gun. If desired, the gun can be provided at its rear end with a hand' grip C and also with a trigger D -for actuating the mechanism that effects the explosion of the ammunition.

A gun 'of the construction above described can be aimed and fired accurately by the user when the user is running; it can be cocked and operated by one hand to effect the feeding of the irst shell into the firing chamber, thus enabling it to be operated by a. one-armed man, a thing that is hardly possible with the automatic rifles now in use; it can be suspended from the shoulder of the user when 1t is provided with a loop, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thus leaving both hands of the user free, and when constructed in the manner shown in Fig. 4, it can be carried easily and sighted accurately by the user when the user is in motion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. A magazine gun, comprising a barrel, an ammunition magazine, mechanism arranged at the rear end of the barrel for effecting the explosion of the ammunition, and means located in proximity to the front endof said barrelA for enabling the user to aim the gun and control the operation of said explosion mechanism with the same hand when the gun is arranged in such a position that the weight of same is borne by the users shoulder.

2. A magazine gun, comprising a barrel, an ammunition magazine, a reciprocating hand grip arranged in proximity to the front end of said barrel and adapted to be grasped by one hand of the user when the gun is arrangedin such a position that the weight of same is borne by the shoulder Aof the user, and means operated by said hand grip for causing the rst shell to be fed from the magazlne into the firing chamber of the gun.

3. A magazine gun, comprising a barrel, an ammunition magazine, a reciprocating hand grip arranged in proximity to the front end of the barrel and adapted to be grasped by one hand of the user when the gun is arranged in such a position that the weight of same is borne by the shoulder of the user, kmeans operated by said hand grip for causing the irst shell to be fed from the magazine vinto the firing chamber o f the gun, and a trlgger arranged in proximity to said hand grip ffor operating the mechanism that effects the explosion of the ammunition.

' 4. A magazine gun, comprising a barrel, an ammunition magazine, a trigger and arranged at the rear end of said barrel for effecting the explosion of the ammunition, a hand grip arranged in proximity to the extreme front end of the the hand which the rear end of said barrel, a hand `grip andl trigger mechanism arranged in proximity to said magazine, a reciprocating hand grlp y arranged adjacent the extreme front end of said barrel, a vsecond trigger arranged in front of said reciprocating hand grip and operatively connected with the trig er first referred to, and means operated '.said reciprocating hand grip for causing te first shell to be fed from the magazine into the iring chamber of the gun.

' JOHN dR. FORDYCE, 

